Life For Rent

I thought this was quite cool. While I like the idea of the corporate insurance to include the significant other (I assume it is a corporate plan, internal one perhaps?), I am a little cautious at the clear distinction it aims for. While many companies have a no-discrimmination policy, I am not sure if I would like HR to see that I belong to the ‘rainbow group’. There is a very thin line between discrimmination and categorising/labelling a certain group. While the flesh is very pleased with such policies and plans, the spirit could be a tad weak. But on a whole I guess this is a positive step towards some form of recognition to the good work PLUs do. The counter thought is, religions and races are not singled out for special treatment, why should PLUs be?

Source: http://www.todayonline.com/articles/234949.asp

Neo Chai Chin
chaichin@mediacorp.com.sg

AMERICAN investment bank Lehman Brothers is planning an unusual initiative in Singapore, Financial Times reported recently. It is specifically targeting gay and lesbians who aspire to be bankers. This follows the success of a presentation and buffet dinner for 50 gay students in Hong Kong.

Today has learnt that the banking giant is not alone. Global banks around Asia are breaking new ground to attract and retain the best and brightest. Increasingly, their hiring and diversity policies are taking into account the homosexual community, which makes up as a significant part of the talent pool.

At UBS Singapore, for example, benefits including health insurance are extended to a staff’s “significant other”, defined as “a person who has cohabited with an employee for a continuous period of 12 months”. The couple does not need to be married, and sexual orientation is not an issue.

Money is a factor in the competition for talent, but keeping up with social changes is also important.

“This is why our benefits policy is designed to be as flexible and inclusive as possible,” said Ms Leona Tan, UBS Singapore’s diversity advisor.

Merrill Lynch, on its part, has four professional networks in the Asia-Pacific region for its staff, one of which is the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender network, set up last April. The other networks are for women, young professionals and parents. The firm even has an annual diversity week, when it hosts speakers, events and conferences for the various networks.

“Our efforts in the area of diversity are about how we can create the most effective and inclusive environment, one in which we value diversity rather than simply tolerate it,” said Mr Roman Matla, spokesperson for the bank’s diversity and inclusion team.

Besides Merrill Lynch and UBS, however, other banks Today contacted were less willing to provide details of exactly how they are catering or wooing gay employees. Gay bank staff whom this newspaper spoke to were not surprised by the taciturnity of their employers.

“We are not fully aware of the firm’s diversity policy, as it is not widely publicised,” said a 34-year-old employee of a European bank here. “I’ve heard that Lehman and Goldman Sachs are the more progressive firms, in that they are more explicit in talking about their policies, normally through email or employees’ handbooks.”

But are more events organised specifically for gay employees the way to go?

Perhaps not, the employee said. “To be honest, I feel it’s not an agenda that needs to be singled out — for example, a skincare workshop for gay employees. I would just like for the policies to be more explicitly stated.”

It does seem, however, that when it comes to diversity initiatives, offshore banks are ahead of their local counterparts. Three major local banks told Today that they did not have staff specifically handling the issue of diversity. OCBC, however, added that its human resource policies “do not discriminate against employees’ personal backgrounds including gender, race or religion”.

When contacted, Dr Stuart Koe, chief executive of Fridae.com, a gay lifestyle portal, said: “Having a diversity programme is going one step beyond an anti-discrimination policy. It shows that employers value the merits and contributions of their gay and lesbian employees.”

What the fish.  From Thursday, prices will now hit a high of $10.50! Guess what. If 5 people go watch a blockbuster on a weekend it will now cost $52.50. Think about that! I am gonna boycott Cathay from now on. Will turn to GV for now, especially the one at Great World City cause I know someone who works there.

So yes. Don’t need to bother me with movies over weekends at Cathay anymore. And to some of the morons below who said it still cost cheaper than US and all, that is not the point. The point is, if you wanna fight movie piracy, this won’t do. They have officially turned me into a movie pirate literally. I am willing to buy a CD that is priced $18.90 but if you charge me $35 like how it used to, you can forget about it. I don’t really care about costs and all. It is their job to find ways to cut cost and all. Inflation rate? Maybe. But as how someone put it, if you look at how and where you spend your money, you can avoid places that have full impact on inflation and GST increases. It is a choice yes. And now that I want to work towards my new home, all these fellas who wanna raise prices by 10 or 20% one shot can go kiss my ass.

Additionally, if the moron below wants to compare with the US, don’t complain when transportation costs also hit that level but your salary stays stagnated. Oh yes, how much tax does the taxman take from the americans? Go figure. Inflation rate is around 4% and that is just about the average annual increment a worker gets. How does that do anything? Cedric made a choice to work for himself. That is good, but he’ll have to consider factors like this. Rising cost and how to get around it, becuz if he has customers like me who react very badly to huge price hikes, I will turn my back against it even if I have been a loyal customer for years! Yes maybe I am an ‘atas’ AJ, go charge the rest the new rate all you want but if I don’t get extended with some privileges as a loyal customer then I guess I will move onto other places who will appreciate it. Whether the price is the same or not is irrelevant.  Today, there is still a $2 mee pok at Clementi. How do they battle inflation?

I am not too sure bout running a business. Maybe I can, maybe I can’t. One thing I do know is I am getting the hang of my equitity trading skills and in the worst case scenario even if I am paralysed, as long as my brain still functions I should be able to make my own money through the stock market, whether I do investing or day trading. Not everyday is a trading day, like this week so it is a chance to ‘go on leave’.

Here’s the price tag for all you guys and the article off channelnewsasia:

SINGAPORE : Expect to pay up to S$10.50 on a weekend to watch blockbusters such as Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince or The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian.Prices for tickets at all Cathay cineplexes will go up on Thursday, adding to the rash of recent price increases including taxi fares, electronic road pricing and cooking gas.

At a media conference on Tuesday, the cinema operator and film distributor said it was raising ticket prices for films by 50 cents or about 6 per cent due to “escalating prices in goods, services, labour, film rentals and the Goods and Services Tax”.

What’s more, an additional 50 cents will be tagged on for blockbusters such as Harry Potter and Iron Man.

“The rising costs we have seen over the recent years is something we cannot ignore,” said Mr Suhaimi Rafdi, the chief executive of Cathay Organisation Holdings, which has four cineplexes here.

The company had been “struggling to make ends meet” and had to jack up prices to “remain profitable”.

Without disclosing details, Mr Rafdi said that the company had made a loss in 2006 and was expecting a “small profit” for last year.

Mr Rafdi said that Cathay would categorise a movie as a blockbuster only if it has an “A-list cast and/or director, a big production budget of more than US$100 million (S$142 million), is a part of a successful franchise (like Spider-Man, Batman and Shrek)” and open on the same day in Singapore as in the United States.

Only around 20 out of the hundreds of films released here would qualify as a blockbuster this year, he said.

So, with Cathay raising its ticket prices, will other cinemas follow suit?

“It’s yet to be seen. They would probably want to see if there are any repercussions because this is a bold move on our part,” said Mr Rafdi.

When contacted by TODAY, Shaw Organisation, which operates seven cineplexes here, said it would not be following Cathay’s lead. “There has been some increase in our cinema operation costs. However, Shaw has no plan to raise its movie ticket prices at this point,” Shaw’s executive vice-president Mark Shaw told TODAY.

The other major operator, Golden Village, did not respond to TODAY’s queries by press time. Moviegoers TODAY spoke to were mixed on the ticket price hike.

“It wouldn’t affect the number of movies I watch. Fifty cents is not that much to me,” said editor Audrey Wong, 32, who goes to the cinema at least four times a month. “It’s still relatively cheaper than going to cinema in Europe or the US.”

Marketing manager Irwin Tham, 28, said the hike would not deter him from watching new releases. “watching a movie at the cinema is different from watching it on DVD.”

But film student Annette Heitmann, 21, said current ticket prices were already expensive and student movie rates did not soften the blow.

“It’s useless because the rates apply during the day, when students have classes.

The price hike will affect students’ decisions to visit the cinema as we have other alternatives”, such as watching the latest movies on the Internet.

Had a reunion dinner tonight with the folks at the paternal side. Mission accomplished! Spoke to my grandma about her living with me and she’s finally willing to go ahead with it after addressing her concerns. I have my concerns too but it is all good. I can figure something out. Top of my head now is to get a mansionette. She will have the room with the attached bathroom so I will be looking for a unit with one on the ground floor while the upper floor will be my territory. Details need to be ironed out. No hurry at the moment but it is so exciting! Financials need to be worked out carefully.

You know, many of you would consider me big sized. At 5′10”, 180 pounds I can tell you I will be a midget in time. My youngest brother at P6 (12 years old) is pretty tall and big sized. In fact he is in the rugby squad with many medals won. My cousin, stands at 6′2” (1.9m) weighing 105kg.  That’s 230 pounds. Gawd. What’s with the genes?

I also got to try a dish that was native in Hong Kong during CNY.. it is called “pun choi” which is ‘plate of vegetables’ when translated. It has all sorts of goodies in it. Roast meat. Mushrooms. Abalone. Scallops and all. I hear the price can range from a few hundred to thousands of dollars!

Kinda tired now so gonna turn in early. I will be releasing my Why Not tribute remix VERY soon along with the tracklist. Keep your eyes peeled here!

I have 2 english names, a first and a middle just like the chinese name. So does it mean I have a split personality? What do you think?

What Mark Means

You are confident, self assured, and capable. You are not easily intimidated. You master any and all skills easily. You don’t have to work hard for what you want. You make your life out to be exactly how you want it. And you’ll knock down anyone who gets in your way!You are usually the best at everything … you strive for perfection. You are confident, authoritative, and aggressive. You have the classic “Type A” personality.You are wild, crazy, and a huge rebel. You’re always up to something. You have a ton of energy, and most people can’t handle you. You’re very intense. You definitely are a handful, and you’re likely to get in trouble. But your kind of trouble is a lot of fun.You are a seeker of knowledge, and you have learned many things in your life. You are also a keeper of knowledge – meaning you don’t spill secrets or spread gossip. People sometimes think you’re snobby or aloof, but you’re just too deep in thought to pay attention to them.

What Ian Means

You tend to be pretty tightly wound. It’s easy to get you excited… which can be a good or bad thing. You have a lot of enthusiasm, but it fades rather quickly. You don’t stick with any one thing for very long. You have the drive to accomplish a lot in a short amount of time. Your biggest problem is making sure you finish the projects you start.You are usually the best at everything … you strive for perfection. You are confident, authoritative, and aggressive. You have the classic “Type A” personality.You are very intuitive and wise. You understand the world better than most people. You also have a very active imagination. You often get carried away with your thoughts. You are prone to a little paranoia and jealousy. You sometimes go overboard in interpreting signals.

What’s Your Name’s Hidden Meaning?

Watched The Mist over the weekend, thinking it is just another horror/thriller/sci fi with aliens flying around, just like many of the others shown before. Resident Evil, or some show that turns the entire population into zombies.  This one is different. Yes there are aliens, and the unknown, but it seems to be the focus on this was on human nature. Stephen King hit the nail with this one, exploring how humans vary from person to person. How humans tend to succumb to hope, and whatever that delivers them to safety. How humans make choices when faced in a do-or-die dilemma. Do you stay in your comfort zone and wait for a miracle to happen, or do you venture out? If you had to die, would you rather die trying or just staying put for what may be eternity? In stocks, we know our boundaries and know when to make a decision based on risk/reward ratio. But when there is uncertainty, what do you do? Perhaps both paths lead to death. Perhaps you may be saved if you’d just stay put and wait for rescue. Perhaps perhaps perhaps. Watch this one, to find out if you’ll agree with the lead character and on hindsight if that was the right decision.

Just back from lunch with my remisier and other like minded people to chat on stuff. Came up with another ‘dream’ in the future hahaha… but that is for another time.

I have begun reading up on the Joseph Cycle, from the guru Simon Sim. I will be writing more on what I learnt from him over time so hopefully we all can learn from it. Who is Simon Sim?

Simon graduated from NUS in 1977 with a BA and joined UBS in 1985 as a full time technical analyst. UBS was the first bank to employ a full time TA then to support risk-takers and clients. In 1990 he was promoted to head of TA. Over the past 2 decades he has correctly predicted many events in the stock, futures, currency and commodity markets. He is also known for forecasting the rise of the STI to 4300 in 2008. More on that in detail later.

One of the principles of the Joseph Cycle is the 7 years of good times followed by 7 lean years. Where are we now with this? Stay tuned! I have found his forecasts since 2003 to be quite accurate. The book was published in 2003 and so far up to today it has been rather spot on. However his principles are not an inducement to trade. It is merely a guideline based on his experience and theories such as the Dow theory.

To begin, I’d like to mention the key message right at the start of the book. “If you listen to God, and have faith and trust in Him, you will be successful and not suffer the ups and downs of life”. The Pharaoh of Egypt believed in his words and the kingdom of Egypt became the most powerful and richest nation in the Arabian Peninsula.

Here are some things one should bear in mind before beginning:

1. There is a cycle in nature that causes booms and busts – a period of good times lasting seven years followed by a period of bad times lasting 7 years.

2. Seven si a spiritual number. It is also divine and is a mystery. Develop faith, trust and confidence in the divine mystery.

3. You must not be greedy. Know what is enough.

4. Good times will not last forever. Every bubble is bound to burst. Be skeptical after a prolonged period of prosperity. Greed will betray you. Be happy and contented with what you have.

5. It is important to save during good times. Save to be safe. Invest to be rich. Saving is a form of insurance and an umbrella to protect against the coming bad times.

6. Bad times will also not last forever. Opportunities may abound in the worst of times. Be positive during and after a long period of gloom. Trust and faith will give you the strength, confidence and the courage to seize opportunities presented at the tail end of the bad times.

7. You must know time- when to get in and when to get out.

The Joseph Cycle is a lesson on greed, savings, investment, leadership and management, and a complete faith and trust in God. It is also a lesson on how to be rich. In other words, how NOT to be poor.

That is all for now. More next time! More on market action. I have seen very little forecasts on when this technical rebound will end. Seriously, no one will know. I have used Fibonacci, trend lines, support lines as well as Joseph Cycle theories and the Dow  theory to come up with an estimate.

Right now as I write, the STI seems to be on a strong rebound at 3164.It has tested 3150 and seems to be trying to head up. I have drawn lines and when the markets sorta crashed earlier this week, it touched 2750 and rebounded back. I drew a trend line since 2003 and the uptrend line is at 2750 region. I expected a bounce then and it did. To my understanding, I feel we are in Wave 4 (Elliot Wave). How far can this go? The 2 previous highs were in the 3900 and 3600 regions. Based on my lines, the max we can ever go is to test 3600. However I expect a more conservative value of say, around 3400 region. Near term we should see if it can test and break 3250. Will this rebound head straight up in one line? Possible, but it is hard to say. No one in the world can tell if it will or not. What I foresee, more importantly, is once it touches a lower high, it should head back down, with a Wave 5. A wave 5 tends to be fast and furious downtrend. My target is for it to test 2100-2300 regions, which is what I can see interim. So when I said, what is cheap now can be cheaper later, this is what I mean. I am re-thinking all my strategies. So that is my prelim forecast. I could be right, and I could be wrong. Please do not follow what I say as the gospel truth.

There are some counters I intend to hold but will not post this publically at the moment. Currently I am in the selling mode for Lippo mapletree trust. It has gaiend 13% for me so far and this is more than what I expected for this reit for the entire year. Intend to take profit at this juncture.

Stocks I am intending to release soon are YZJ (don’t like to hold shipping stocks this year), UOL (currently on an uptrend, intending to release once signal show), Banyan tree (intended for long term and made a mistake in buying at wrong price but decided to sell when the time comes), Ferrochina (selling on news). There are some that I will hold for the uptrend. When you see me running away selling all, usually it means I anticipated a sell down round the corner. Thank goodness my TA system worked the last round. I sold most of my holdings at a loss. If you remember my post in the past, the losses amounted to more than 10%. The very next day, the markets began to plunge and I began short selling some of the counters that broke down from a descending triangle. I profited some, loss on some. The nature of the game.

My opinion is that it is not time to buy in for long periods yet. If you are gonna hold for 10 years, yes it should be fine cause it would be a bull run then (ought to begin from around 2014?). But short term within months, things could get cheaper when wave 5 sets in.

Recently sold positions are HSI Call warrant and short covering on Straits Asia. You can be sure when the index has hit a resistance and signals show a downturn, I will be waiting at the top with my CFD account full of ammunition for short selling. Some of the counters I intend to short include YZJ, Cosco, Jardine C&C (not for the faint hearted!) and others. Long term wise when the mad selling is ongoing I intend to pick up SGX. I asked for $6. My remisier is waiting for $5, while another is waiting for $7 hahaha… we had a good laugh with our ‘off the top of the head’ figure. Someone did comment that among bourses, SGX tends to be cheap already. No wonder so many funds are into it. A lot of talk has been on the QDII coming in. I agree with some views, that I don’t think it will be actively pushing up S shares. Think about it, if they want to diversify, why should they buy the same shares in another market? Doesn’t make sense. I think this is a bull trap to ‘bluff’ people into jumping into stocks like YZJ, Cosco etc. I am looking at them investing into foreign stocks and I believe blue chips will be their target. Especially stocks like SGX, DBS, etc. This is another reason that ?I do not want to hold onto YZJ for long. Good stock, good company yes, blue chip in the making perhaps, but wrong time.

Let’s see if the CNY rally will work well this year.Beware of bull traps along the way.

The mighty mark training system is still on going, with now being the start of week 3. Some results is a 2% drop in body fat, but a 2kg increase in body weight. This brings my weight to 82kg, or about 180 pounds. Am I getting larger? Don’t know. But the training buddy said he noticed the ‘cutting’ is a little more ripped. 3 more weeks to go, there abouts! I am rather physically tired from all the training, and work is pretty crazy in the office.

Some market action. Global markets had a sell down, with some recording record breaking drops. STI plunged over 6% to somewhat lower than Aug’s correction. Indian markets dropped over 8% while most of the other regional bourses dropped over 5%. Is the fall over? It is hard to say. With New York on a holiday, the markets will be closed there. Bank of China expects a bigger write down due to their exposure to the US markets and basically it seems other than a technical rebound there isn’t much reason for any other rally. Banks are not providing pessimistic assumptions on their exposure, hence what we see is worse than expected write downs, bringing the whole market down. If only they gave a more pessimistic expected write down which eventually leads to better than expected losses, it might give the markets a shot in the arm. Eyes are now on the feds again, with a 50bp rate cut expected. Some are hoping for a 75bp cut. I noticed straits asia has broken out of the symmetric triangle and I have began to short it using CFD. Interim target is 2.45 region, while 200d MA is at $2. It did not appear to break with lots of volume but that may be due to a lack of buyers. The price went down towards 2.6 but closed at 2.7 as naked shortists covered their positions. At 2.7 it is still a break down of the triangle. YZJ has also broken down its major support. Simply put, I really don’t know where this is headed. My thinking is, to avoid guessing. The trend is down but the markets go up and down all the time. Today, both bulls and bears got trapped and eaten. Some were eaten alive.  What will tomorrow bring?

I caught “I now pronounce you chuck and larry” over DVD and it was bloody hilarious! I’d say give it a watch. I also caught shooter starring mark walhburg. Also caught 27 dresses at the cinemas, which was a romantic comedy bout the female lead having been to 27 weddings as part of her job who yearns for her own wedding someday. In a strange twist of events, she fell in love with someone she was so totally annoyed with initially. That’s how a lot of things began isn’t it. If there were no chemistry, would it have been possible for someone to agitate you enough? Can you get angry with someone if you didn’t care? Perhaps so. But the fact that a single individual could affect another positively or negatively, could indicate there is some sort of chemistry involved. A crush, may just be a crush ultimately. So perfect in one’s eyes, yet nothing when faced up close.  Can you love someone whom you’ve detested? In this world, anything is possible.

Let’s stray away from the financial markets for a while. I was reading an article and I was inspired by it to share my thought. A male homosexual is gay. ‘Gay’ can be a noun or a verb. Think, “I am a gay” and “I am gay”. Gay? Happiness? It comes to a point were PLUs grapple with the fact of dying alone. In fact I think many gays hope they would never live so long. Vanity issue maybe? They do not want to die an old wrinkly man. They do not want to die alone. What I personally feel is, lonely is not about being alone. Is it something in the mind then? That we all want a happy ending. We live a good life, we die happy without regrets. No one hopes for a sad ending. We do not want to die alone. But think about it. Whether we die without anyone around, or by a bedside full of people, we still die alone. Birth and death are solitary journeys. In the entire process, we are on our own. Does dying by a bedside full of people make you feel better? Or would it make a lot of people sad, including yourself. The unwillingness to part. The witness of a departure is understandably painful. Hence, does that equate to dying alone, a better option? What’s a funeral for? Carrying a neutral mind, I agree with the author that a funeral does nothing for the departed. It has everything to do with those living though. A reminder that when death knocks, one cannot choose to ignore. Death is as natural as birth. It does not imply we have to carry the same sentiment and rejoice during both occasions. Mind control works wonders. The author compares physical pain to being burnt alive. Mental pain is the sense of loneliness. Can this be controlled? The author feels it can. It is about inner peace. What is inner peace to me? It is knowing that nothing is left undone. How many of us can say that if death knocks on our door tomorrow?

The great Buddha said death is a great teacher. It could be the best teacher yet.When we fully realise that all of us must die one day, we prioritize better. We do not chase material wealth that does nothing to fulfill inner peace. We respect time, knowing that everyone’s clock is ticking. We just do not know when the alarm will go off, and when the clock strikes thirteen(clocks never strike thirteen) then perhaps, our time on this side is over.Never mind that the clock is ticking. If we do nothing about it, then it ticks in vain. If time does not end, and time is eternity, then everything becomes meaningless. It is like a country that prints its own currency over and over. Eventually all they print is ‘hell money’ worth nothing. Appreciate that time is not forever. And that it has an expiry date just like everything that was created. Only with that appreciation, perhaps we can answer questions like ‘what is life?’ and understand the meaning of life. The meaning of our existence. If one believes in destiny, then one would know everything is pre-destined. Who you’ll meet. What you’ll do. What you’ll eat tomorrow. All has been destined. There is no point in fighting against destiny. Rather, let it be a friend, and work with it. Hopefully, I too, one day, can achieve inner peace.

What is the significance of the picture I posted up here? 2 bodies intertwined literally. I thought it was a very sweet picture. That everyone, even homosexuals, and all other minorities in existence, deserve the chance to love. You can be with someone. Married for 10 years. 50 years. The final journey though, you will have to walk alone. We were born with nothing on our backs and with 2 abilities only. To breathe, and to suck (seriously!). What do we carry with us when we die? I see Indonesia’s former president Suharto fighting for his life. Does he fear death? No one but him knows. But with his condition, he has been very resilient. I admire his fighting spirit. Or perhaps, it is just not his time yet?

I know I am not ready to go. I have so much to do. It is always like a rat race. You achieve one thing, and realise for every 1 thing you have achieved, there are a million new things to achieve. This cycle cannot be broken, and one is forever in that rat race (the rat on a wheel, forever running but in reality goes nowhere). I am also nowhere near finding inner peace. So much so, I’ve always thought if I die, I will probably come back as a very revengeful ghost and make the whole world a living hell. What do I really want in life? This is a question only I can answer. Knowing myself, if I have to die before I can answer AND achieve it, then I haven’t really lived, have I?

Many indices and counters broke their long term support today. It all began with the US again with citigroup posting a huge write down. Dow Jones was forming a head and shoulders, and it broke hence looking at the chart, it seems the interim target is in the 12100 region thereabouts.

HSI broke major support lines too. It was bloody today. Closing over 1k points down. Interim support maybe around 22000 which is another 2000 points to go.  FYI, HSI slumped over 5% in the red while Tokyo took more than 3% down. STI was also down more than 3%. The truth is, it is a sea of red everywhere. And with a HS formation on wall street, this does not appear to end anytime soon.

STI could not hold what I thought it would. Could tell that it was struggling to hold but eventually succumbed to the selling pressure. It also broke my last support at 3100 so it does look like it will test 3000 and 2900 levels. Of course it will not head in a straight line. Rallies and rebounds will come in between sessions while bulls and bears fight. However it is a pointless fight cause unfortunately,  the bears have a very powerful lead.

A lot of people will ‘die’ in this brutal sell down. It is reported that security firms are not looking at stocks anymore.  They are looking at their client’s portfolios to see pick out margin calls. I do not expect a lot though, cause there was no recent buying anyway. The stubborn ones who held on since a few months ago will get margin calls. For me, I am thankful I took the exit by selling down most of my holdings on the very last opportunity to do so. Majority of my holdings back then would have tanked between 10c and 40c, in a span of 3 days. Not a single counter was spared.

I need not do much charts for longing anyway. All charts are ugly. In fact, the shortists will have a busy night picking out the best counters to short.  No one was expecting this sell down so soon, did they?

Posted this in the forum on STI so thought I’d share.

Short term definitely descending triangle. Support was at 3300 which broke as you know. If I look at long term, and draw an uptrend line since around 06 bullish run (low point during may correction) it is in a symmetric triangle. Based on fibonacci retracement, it is highly likely the price will bounce up on a tech rally at 50%. 50% is 3100 region. Therefore my conclusion based on that is, it should not break below 3100. I do expect a tech rebound from there. A tech rebound is not a bull run, just in case you are wondering. If 3100 breaks, 61.8% retracement is 2900. So that is your next major support. Do I expect 3000, my view is, not yet.

I have covered all my short positions today already. YZJ has hit my target price and hasn’t broken it. I also expect a possible rebound. However no real buy signal yet so that is my opinion.

UOL has been having black candle sticks. BUT i spotted stochastic seemingly going to cross over near term. Generally if trend is intact, I will expect a cross over in a couple trading sessions. A MACD buy signal usually shows 3 days after that, confirming a buy. Based on that, could see a reversal before the month is over. No $2.50 in sight seemingly near term unless the trend breaks.

So STI represents market sentiment. If the sentiment is right, generally most other stocks will follow through with their trend, be it up or down.

One more thing I’d say. For shades maybe. Honestly, I will not sell ST Engr to load up on UOL. I feel ST Engr is doing well and is a good stock to hold.

YZJ hit my target price. Cosco also hit down but closed my position. It has a very strong EMA200d support line. SGX also hit my target, from single digit to 10.50 region. Early signs of reversal. If it closes in the green during next trading day, that signal is further enhanced. Probably shortist covering their positions.

One thing to note. I used to hate shortists. Cuz they screw up my counters and make my counters go red. Over time as I fined tune my own formula I have learnt not to go against the trend, cause there is no way one can win. When you carry out a transaction either you make or lose money.No such thing as draw. Hence it is obvious I rather make money than to lose money.

So yes I am looking for a trend reversal soon. However unless you intend to trade, I don’t think mid-long term purchases may be a good idea at the moment.

I am still fine tuning my system and am quite new. So let’s see how zun my analysis is.

Oh yes my lovely ossia. Almost a 3 black crow formation. No buy signal yet. Odds is more downtrend. The vol has also been increasing during this sell down. I am looking for either a hammer candlestick, or a bullish engulfing candle stick. However it needs to range from 0.20 to 0.28. That is 8c within a day. A little hard. Not impossible though. Maybe.